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Aug 30, 2008

Jaeger LeCoultre Calibre 101: Smallest Mechanical Movement in the World

For those who have been on Savvy Gal’s adventure, some of you might have noticed I have been ranting quite a bit about watches. Well, Savvy Gal is trying to find a new watch and this is her process of elimination. So bear with her a little longer and she will eventually find her savvy watch to share with all the savvy gals. This little piece set the world record in 1929 as the smallest mechanical movement in the world and no one has broken that record as of today. This is all great in theory and I do applaud JLC for such innovation. The Calibre 101 is truly impressive with 98 parts weighing only almost a gram and taking only 14mm x 4.8mm x 3.4 mm of space, yes in millimeters.With that being said, when I tried the watch on, I couldn’t see the time without 110% focus and a magnifying glass. My SA tells me he will give me a magnifying glass on the house if I buy the watch, sure he will. I wonder how many perfect is his bonus? The watch truly is innovative and a beautiful piece of art but not very savvy in my eye for its lack of functionality. It’s more of a jewelry show piece than a time keeper, but if I am going to pay that much money then I might as well buy a true piece of jewelry or at least a watch that actually allows a gal to tell time with ease. For any gal interested, the retail prices for these watches left to right are $38,000, $58,000 and $65,000. I think I will just buy a new BMW, what do you think?

They are quite lovely . . . but sadly now that everyone has cell phones attached to them at all times the watch is going the way of the dodo, right?Btw, thanks for your comment - I love that Gucci Hysteria tote; I think I will include it in tomorrow's Z post!!!

The watches are such a time-waster! I mean one of the whole points of using a watch is for convenience. In time it takes for you to figure out the time on this tiny watch, you could have found a clock.

I must agree with all the savvy gals, a car sounds like a better deal. The watch is great in theory if a gal has lots of money to burn but otherwise, it is not very functional. The good thing and the bad thing with JLC are these watches do not go on sale. It is possible to negotiate with the vendor for some sort of break on the price.

You might be interested to know that Queen Elisabeth II did once own such a watch. It was a gift from the french government she received in 1938, when she was only twelve years old. It is reported that she wore it almost daily for a long period of time, including for her mariage in 1947, and her coronation in 1953, but she unfortunately lost it in 1955 when she was walking the dogs at Sandringham. Despite an intensive search by the police, farm workers, the Boys Scouts and even soldiers with metal detectors, it was never found. The bracelet and the case were in platinum, made by Cartier